NONINVASIVE METHOD FOR EVALUATION OF TISSUE IRON DEPOSITION IN BETA-THALASSEMIA MAJOR

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 91  (1) , 24-31
Abstract
DXS [diagnostic X-ray spectrometry], a noninvasive method for the analysis and quantitation of trace elements in different tissues, was applied to quantitate the degree of Fe overload in the skin of 19 patients with .beta.-thalassemia major. The duration of the test is short, it is not associated with inconvenience to the patient and it can be repeated at different times at different locations on the outer surface of the body. In patients who receive numerous repeated blood transfusions, there was a close correlation between the dermal Fe content and the rate of transfusions when they exceeded 6 units of packed red blood cells per year. In 3 patients with the spleen in situ, the dermal Fe content was lower than in corresponding splenectomized patients. The rate of dermal Fe accumulation was similar to the rate of Fe deposition in the liver, as assessed in a similar group of patients by repeated liver biopsies. The monitoring of the degree of Fe accumulation in individual patients as a function of time and the effect of treatment with Fe chelating agents can be determined noninvasively with the aid of DXS.